The Last Christmas Of Mike McCarthy

For those of you who may not have read the conclusion of the last tale....it can be found below this post.

With Christmas coming on, I felt compelled to tell a story that occurred a few years back involving a friend of mine who was dying. While it's not a particularly 'happy' tale, it's one that has marked me for life in a good way.

Very little time is spent on learning how to really LIVE. Even less time is spent learning how to die.

Mike McCarthy showed me how to do both.

I pray that I can always follow his example.

Now to the story....

The Last Christmas of Mike McCarthy.

I had lived up here in the mountains of North Carolina for a few years when I received a phone call one late and snowy night. I believe it was around two o’clock in the morning.

It was a week or so before Christmas when the phone rang.

I was a little perturbed because the phone interrupted the process of learning a few songs I really liked. I’ll never forget that one of the songs was “Heart Of The Matter” by Don Henley. Each week or two, I tried to learn or write a new song or two so that my gigs wouldn’t become stale and I usually devoted several nights a week to doing so. I REALLY liked that song and I didn’t appreciate being interrupted while learning it but….such is life.

I answered the phone with an uncharacteristically gruff comment.

“This better be a matter of life or death.” I growled.

“Damn bo…you’re freakin’ psychic!” The almost cartoonish deep voice of Mike McCarthy said.

Instantly, I was no longer angry.

For some reason, even to this day, my old musician buddies wait until the wee hours of the morning to call….and, in the interest of full disclosure…I call THEM at ungodly hours too.

It must be an old musician thing but….it’s true.

In this particular case, it was ‘Mikey Mac’ and I was tickled to hear from him.

Months earlier, I had gone to Columbia for a huge private party on the Santee River and Mike had shown up looking pretty bad.

He had always been a tall, heavy and incredibly humorous man but, this day…he was none of the aforementioned.

He wasn’t doing well at all.

He was a really good bass player, a great bass singer and a longtime great friend.

He was a one of kind guy.

I asked him if he was okay and he said that he was going to the doctor soon. I hadn’t talked to him since I’d last seen him that day at the party.

“What are you up to Mikey?” I asked. “I hope you know you woke me up!” I lied.

“Fuck a bunch of sleep!” He snarled. “There’ll be plenty of time for sleep when I’m dead.”

I laughed. We always went through the same routine.

“Don’t make me hunt you down and shoot your big ass.” I chuckled.

There was a moment of silence.

“Are you there?” I asked.

“If you wanna get credit for the kill bro…you better hurry the hell up.” He said quietly as his deep voice shook a bit.

Instinctively I knew the answer to my next question.

“Is it bad Mikey?” I asked.

I could hear him take a deep breath.

“Well, if you’re my ex wife…no, it ain’t bad but if you’re ME…it pretty much sucks out loud.” He replied.

“Damn dude.” I said lamely. “What is it?”

He proceeded to perfectly pronounce a medical term which was totally alien to me but, the gist of it was that he should have seen a doctor two years ago when he first noticed the symptoms.

As things stood at that moment in time…he was going to die.

“How long have you got?” I asked.

“Well, I’m gonna go shopping for a one month calendar tomorrow but, I’ll probably only need half of it.” He chuckled.

“Dear God Mikey….I’m so sorry.” I remember saying as I held back the tears.

A few minutes passed as we both collected ourselves.

“Is it snowing up there?” He asked.

I was taken aback by the abrupt change of subjects.

It took me a second to respond.

“Yeah….as a matter of fact, it is.” I answered. “It’s snowing like a mother.”

“Man, I’d love to play in the snow!” He said. “I ain’t never played in the snow.”

Without even thinking of the ramifications, I answered him.

“That ain’t a problem big boy…come on up here.” I said.

“Hell, I’m scared to drive.” He snorted. “I'm afraid I’ll pass out and kill somebody.”

“Well hell….I can be there in five hours.” I told him. “I’ll come get your ass.”

“Really?” He sounded like a little boy.

“Sure dude.” I answered. “I owe you Mikey. Remember when you came to rescue me down in Florida?”

He laughed.

“Yeah…you DO owe me don’t you?”

Mike had once driven eleven hours to pick me up in Key West when my car totally died and I was stuck with no money, a bunch of equipment and a gig waiting for me in Charlotte in three days.

No questions asked. No terms.

He just came and got me.

“You’re damned right I owe you.” I said.

“I gotta go the doctor tomorrow to get my prescriptions but, I’ll be ready to go after that.” I could hear the excitement in his voice.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to travel?” I asked.

“Jeez dude…I’m dyin’.” He laughed. “What’s it gonna hurt?”

I actually laughed. I can’t believe it but…I laughed.

“Good point.” I said.

He didn’t say anything for a second or two.

“You know…I was watchin’ the weather tonight and the local station said it was snowing up there and I thought of you.” He said. “Something told me to call you.”

“I’m glad you did.” I said.

I could’nt think of anything else to say.

His booming laugh came out over the phone so loudly that I had to pull the receiver away from my head.

“You lyin’ sack of shit!” He was REALLY laughing now. “You’re sittin’ there thinkin’….what the fuck did I just promise Mikey?”

A couple of seconds went by as I thought about what he had said.

He was ABSOLUTELY right.

I’m not proud of it but…I never expected him to take me up on the offer! Hell…he was dying right? Who’d have thought he would want to hang out with me in his last days?

However….I was stuck.

I quickly decided that the best thing to do was to deal with him as I always had…honestly.

“Ok asshole….you nailed it but, I’m game if you are.” I laughed. “Just do me a favor and don’t fuckin’ die on me while you’re here.”

He laughed for several seconds.

“Trust me dude….I’ll do my best not to.”

“Ok, well, I’m comin’ to get you tomorrow afternoon.” I informed him.

“Is it still gonna be snowin’” He asked.

“It’s supposed to snow all week so you’ll get to play in the snow.” I told him.

Another moment of silence passed.

“I owe you dude.” He said. "Everybody else is avoiding me."

It was all I could do to maintain my composure. Tears were flowing down my face and I covered the phone as I cleared my throat.

I felt as though I would never swallow again.

“Shut the fuck up Mikey.” I managed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You sure you wanna do this?” He asked. “I’m a friggin' mess these days.”

“You’ve always been a mess Mikey.” I said. “I’ll be there around six tomorrow.”

“See you then.” He said. “Thanks bro.”

“Thanks for calling me Mikey.” I said. “I’m glad you let me know.”

“Later dude.” He said as he hung up.

I hung up the phone and sat there for over an hour until something came over me and I knelt on the floor in my living room.

I remember asking God to help me handle the situation in a way that would help Mike. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been on my knees in prayer nor the last time I had cried so hard but........I did.

I knew that I was in over my head and needed guidance.

Within minutes, I swear, a sense of calm came over me and I stood up.

I quickly went to bed and slept like a baby.

I woke up the next day and couldn’t believe that I was actually looking forward to seeing Mike. I've never been a 'touchy feely' kind of person but...I really was looking forward to seeing him.

I spent the first part of the day calling a few musician friends and a couple of very attractive women. I explained the situation and got commitments from them to participate in an elaborate week long party for Mike. To a person, they were all extremely willing to take part even though NONE of them had ever met Mike McCarthy.

It was amazing.

Thus began a few days that I'll never forget.

To Be Continued.........

Side Note...

I didn't realize how tough it would be to relate this story but...I'm glad I'm writing it down. Unfortunately, it won't take long to finish this story but...I hope I do it justice.

More tomorrow.